Each patient’s healthcare information is confidential. It is especially important to secure and maintain patient health information because it frequently contains financial and family medical history. This is the rationale behind the introduction of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
In this article we will discuss about core HIPAA rules so continue reading this article.
1 The Privacy Rule
In order to establish limitations and guidelines for PHI sharing, including what PHI is shared, when it is shared, and under what conditions it can be used or disclosed, the Privacy Rule was passed in 2003.
The Privacy Rule’s main objective is to ensure that a person’s PHI is kept in a manner that permits it to move between parties, like doctors or insurance companies, who require access to it in order to provide the patient with the best possible healthcare while still preserving the data. The Privacy Rule also stipulates that patients should have the same access to medical information as their doctors have and should have some control over where that information is used and who has access to it.
2. The Security Rule
The Security Rule addresses electronic Protected Health Information, whereas the Privacy Rule addresses the overall integrity and privacy of PHI (ePHI). Three different types of safeguards must be implemented, according to the Security Rule:
Administrative Safeguards
Documentation procedures, roles and responsibilities, training needs, and data upkeep are all outlined in administrative safeguards. The following two precautions are typically defined and correctly executed using administrative safeguards.
Physical Security
Data should be physically protected, according to physical safeguards. This can include security measures, access control measures, and rules for using mobile devices or other portable hardware to access ePHI.
Technical safeguards
These are the rules and technologies that protect PHI’s integrity from unauthorised access.
3. The Breach Notification Rule
In 2009, the Breach Notification Rule, a significant HIPAA extension, amended and modified key HIPAA provisions.
The rule first defined a breach as any unauthorised use or distribution of PHI that would threaten the security and privacy of a person’s personal healthcare information. The rule also mandated that all impacted parties be notified of a breach within 60 days by covered companies and their business partners. Additionally, if the breach is of a certain degree, they must notify the Department of Health and Human Services and, in some situations, the media, according to the rule.
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